[Agronomist]

Originally Posted by dc2569

From what i have studied, There is a microbe that colonizes and starts to breakdown clorophyl.

What is this microbes scientific name?
What is the enzyme that brakes down chlorophyll called?
What does chlorophyll brake down to?

If you actually studied this it wont be a problem for you answer this and give a reliable article that backs your claim.

[Only Ornamental]

There are many different microbes colonising the leaves but they are not the primary cause for chlorophyll catabolism, senescence is . Microbes and hence fermentation don't play a role these days but were the reason why Mexi brick weed and Thai sticks looked not quite the way you're used to from modern dispensary buds.
BTW enzymes breaking down chlorophyll are called chlorophyllases of which there are several ones. There are several catabolites too, often tetrapyrrol compounds with cleaved macrocycle.

[Dropped Cat]

The cob method comes to mind, the results are



staggering.

[coldcanna]

Hi folks sorry I've been away from this thread, too busy these days....

I have been reading through dozens of scientific articles on Essential Oil research and will try to post up some information soon. What I have found so far in general terms is that the plant's essential oils are at peak state right at harvest and are made up primarily of Monoterpenes. During the cure terpenes degrade into Sesquiterpenes and alchohols in a linear fashion against time. In many plants used for essential oils the leaf matter is flash heated to kill enzymatic activity and its degradation of oils, producing a better oil than a sun or air dried version.

So it seems there are 2 lines of inquiry here. We know that curing does not help the oils aspect, but since we are smoking the product we must have some way to reduce chlorophyll and sugar content of plant matter. I am moving into the research on this avenue and will get back with a more proper, cited summary as soon as I can.

[Agronomist]

Monoterpenes do not break down to sesquiterpenes.
Due to the fact that sesquiterpenes are 5 carbon atomes bigger then monoterpenes.

[Only Ornamental]

The mono- to sesquiterpene ratio shifts during ageing because monoterpenes are more volatile .
Chlorophyll is often not broken down because the buds are still green and sugars aren't necessarily broken down either. Extrapolating from tobacco curing (which is a real curing as for example smokable tobacco isn't green), starch is broken down to single sugars. This alters burning (less black ashes) and aroma (free sugars and amino acids react together in something called Maillard reaction which is for example responsible fro the smell of fresh bread or grilled meat).

[coldcanna]

Originally Posted by Agronomist

Monoterpenes do not break down to sesquiterpenes.
Due to the fact that sesquiterpenes are 5 carbon atomes bigger then monoterpenes.

Thank you for the correction- I only looked at GC-MS ratios in terms of percentage of oil makeup so that makes sense. I misinterpreted that as a degraded state.

So Ornamental- knowing what you know about the tobacco curing. Would there be a way to artificially speed up this reaction via heat, enviro conditions, etc... A perfect result would be to maintain as close as possible to the "raw" oil makeup of the plant.

[Phaeton]

"water cure"

Trim the buds for smoking then place underwater instead of hanging in air.
Change the water every six hours the first day and every twelve for the next week.
This pulls a fair amount of the chlorophyll out along with all the water soluble resins, leaving wood fiber and oils as the remaining ingredients.

Not the same as curing but the product is about as potent as it is possible to get and still be bud.

[Only Ornamental]

Originally Posted by coldcanna

...Would there be a way to artificially speed up this reaction via heat, enviro conditions, etc... A perfect result would be to maintain as close as possible to the "raw" oil makeup of the plant.

There is, but it ain't perfect ;( . It'd be called flue-curing and sounds interesting to try though I'd use less heat than for tobacco. Maybe use some sort of incubator (aka kiln) to heat up to 30-35°C... but mould would become an issue cause buds are tightly packed nuggets of small and poorly aerated leaflets and flowers compared to single huge tobacco leaves.

[Only Ornamental]

Originally Posted by Phaeton

"water cure"...

That sounds like water retting, a procedure used during the production of hemp fibres .